This is the best solution for DIY large clear balls of ice. There are a lot of products for 2" ice balls, but few for 2.5" - and the ones that are available aren't very space efficient, and tend to be more difficult to use. These are small, and dead simple to use. I use cold tap water. (If my tap water wasn't good, I'd probably use spring water, like Deer Park.) Fill the container to the fill line on the inside, marked MIN. Over the sink, slowly insert the silicone mold into the vessel allowing the water to flood the mold slowly. Once it's in, I like to place my finger over the top hole in the silicone, and push it down firmly - this will cause a little bit of water to spill over the side - just dry it off with a towel, and set this into your freezer. Freeze it for 20 hours. Take it out of the freezer. The silicone mold should have pushed itself up as the water froze. Grab the silicone firmly, and give it a little twist while twisting the metal container the opposite direction. Once it breaks free (and it doesn't require much force), you can pluck the silicone mold out, separate the two halves, and you'll have a perfectly clear ice ball. The surface may not look clear, but that's just frost. If you set it in a rocks glass, and give it a couple minutes to temper, you'll see just how clear it is when you pour your drink over it. (Important to let the ice ball sit for a couple minutes at room temperature - if you immediately pour over it, the ball will probably crack. It needs to acclimate to the room ambient temperature.) The first time I saw molds like these, they were almost $50 each. From this vendor, $15 a piece, or $12 a piece if you buy the 8 pack (October '25). These are a great value. I may buy another set for my own use, and I can definitely see giving them away as gifts. Each individual unit comes in a nicely printed box, and has a decent set of printed instructions. Read more
Easy to make and remove. Makes nice, clear spheres that's last a long time. Read more
Got this as a gift for my dad and he absolutely loved it! The clear ice cubes are a great size, especially for an Old Fashioned or similar drinks. The maker is easy to clean and feels well made. The only downside is that the cubes can be a little hard to remove from the mold, but overall it’s a great product. Read more
This product makes a clear ice ball that's just the right size for most tumblers. It's also easy to remove the ice from the silicone. It loses one star because the ice melts faster than ice made with other, less expensive moulds I have despite claims from the manufacturer that the ice melts slower. The clear ice is much more aesthetically pleasing, but I bought it mainly for the slower melting claims so that my drink would be less watered down. Since the mould is designed to remove air from the water as the ice melts, there's also less faults and cracks in the ice ball, meaning it won't split. Of course, once an ice balls splits, it melts much faster in pieces. You could also argue that this ice, on average at least, melts slower, since its very rare for it to crack into pieces. Overall, this is a well made ice ball maker, I just don't know if it's worth the money if you have other moulds already. Read more
I prefer bourbon on the rocks to drinking it neat. Ice cubes seem to water down the bourbon very quickly so I bought another type of ice ball molds. They work, but the cubes are always cloudy and don't look very good in a nice glass of bourbon or an old fashioned. There are several different types of ice ball makers available, but many of them take up a lot of freezer space that I need for frozen food. After reading the reviews I decided to buy these, and I'm glad I did. They're simple to use, don't take up very much space and they do in fact make clear ice balls. I use filtered water from the refrigerator and they turn out great. The kit includes a special pair of tongs to grip the ice balls if you're serving guests and a plastic freezer bin to store the ice balls. I will purchase these again as a gift item. Read more
Was skeptical about the clear ice claim. Followed the directions to the T and large balls of ice CRYSTAL CLEAR. Not certain how it works to achieve the no cloudy appearance, it just happens. Fun item to make ice balls for drinks. Read more
The ice spheres look amazing! Easy to fill up with water, easy to pull the ice out, easy to clean… Perfect! Read more
Ice is clear and easy to remove from mold. Does not take up much space in freezer. Read more
